New veg garden.....

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
Thomassio
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New veg garden.....

Post by Thomassio »

Hi all, I'm new on here so please be gentle!

I'm moving house in about 6 weeks and want to start my first veg garden. In the past I have had grow bags and chillis and herbs on the window sill and garden. I have managed to get hold of scaffold boards cut down to make 2 6ft x4ft raised beds (wanted 8x4 but didn't think I could have got them in the car!)

The advise I'm after is this; what to plant. I'm sure I only want to grow what me and the boss will eat but it also needs to be relatively easy, hardy and preferably fast growing......and ready to plant at the end of march - so not much then! Basically, what should I be looking to grow? I have more space too for tomatoes and and other climbing things, just wanting to focus on the raised beds for the moment. I would like to get as much as possible from the space (wouldn't we all!).

I have 6 runner ducks already and will be getting some chickens when I get there too so some questions to come in the poultry section! I have also managed to get my hands on a full roll of scaffolders netting which I'm hoping will be perfect to keep the girls out of the beds. I'm also planning on turning one of the beds into a mini polytunnel too.

Sorry the post is so long but I'm very excited to be moving into my own new space after previously being in a 'shared ownership' property!

Thanks a lot,

Thom.
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by Totally Scrambled »

Evening Thom,
Greetings and welcome to The Lane )wav(
I'm a bit of a bung it in and give it a go veg gardener so can't really advise you but I'm sure some of our keen veg gardeners will be along soon )t'
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lancashire lass
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by lancashire lass »

)wav( hi Thom & welcome. A lot depends on where you live as to when and what you can start planting in the beds. There's not a lot can go out at the end of March, even in the warmer climes of the south except potato planting and then again, it depends on the weather - even on a warm sunny day, the soil can still be too cold and wet. If interested in growing potatoes, I would recommend getting seed potatoes about now and start chitting them in trays on a bright (not necessarily south facing) windowsill. Chitting isn't really necessary but it'll give you something to do while waiting for the right time to plant LOL First earlies are lifted in about 12 weeks time (new potato type), second earlies (some are the waxy salad type) in about 16 or so weeks, main crop (for use and storage over winter) remain in the ground for about 22 weeks +

Quick growing - most things take a while to get going when it's cold, but salad stuff like lettuce (go for small variety like Little Gem rather than ones with a big head - about 10 weeks to harvesting) and radish are fairly quick (3 weeks) but don't sow all at once or they'll all be ready for harvesting about the same time. Start the lettuce off indoors (from about mid March), but radish should be sown direct when the soil warms up. Summer cabbage (especially the pointy ones like Hispi or Greyhound) can be started in seed trays in mid-March and planted out later for cropping in June/July. Sow broad beans now/March for similar. Peas (Kelvedon Wonder) or mangetout/sugarsnap and early carrots like Nantes are other crops that are sown in succession preferably directly in the soil, as in a few seeds every week from about mid-April, for cropping from about 10 weeks or so later and right through to August. Turnips like Purple Top Milan are a quick growing variety (they taste better when small and go woody as they get bigger) Beetroot are another quick growing and better lifted when small.

Onion sets can be planted in April (try to plant later to avoid frosts which can trigger the sets to go into flower production rather than bulk up) and they usually die back about mid August to be lifted and cured before storage to use right through winter.

Courgettes - start them off from about mid-April indoors and plant out after any risk of frost (depends where you are, but from about mid-late May and even then be prepared to protect with some horticultural fleece if there's forecast of frost) and by end of June/mid July you should start to get some courgettes. Courgettes do need bees to pollinate so grow at least 2 plants, although you could try a parthenogenic variety such as Cavilli F1 or (not original) Parthenon F1 (expensive seeds) which still produces fruit without pollination. Courgettes generally are very productive when picked regularly (as you pick, so it keeps producing more flowers) so don't try and grow too many plants although I'm sure the chickens will enjoy any surplus LOL

With regards the debris/scaffold netting - good choice for also keeping a lot of pests out too such as cabbage white butterflies if you make proper cages over brassicas, as well as pigeons so should be chicken proof too.

Perhaps you should start making a list of things you'd like to grow - don't forget that when you lift a crop up, you can plant something in it's place that can be cropped later - a good example is that baby leeklets you sow in March/April will be ready to plant out after lifting the first early potatoes (dib a hole, pop the bare rooted leek in, water in and leave) and these will be ready for harvesting from autumn right through winter (depends on the variety, but Musselburgh is a good one for winter cropping)

Just want to make a note here that some winter crops actually need to be sown in March such as parsnip or brussel sprouts just in case you start to think about growing things for winter (makes sense to have a productive veg garden all year round) Swede are sown about May.

Good luck with your new home and enjoy the garden - I can understand how excited you are )t'
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perchy
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by perchy »

Hello Thom and welcome to the lane from me too )wav(

You will get lots of advice here on veggies and maybe you could join the Diary thread about your veggie garden )t'
Thomassio
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by Thomassio »

Hi Perchy, TS and Lancashire Lass, thank you all for the warm welcome.

LL, what a reply! Sorry I completely forgot location, I am in south Devon. Some very helpful info, thanks very much. A few bits went over my head but most of it I kept up with! One thing that I was worried about was missing the best time to be planting but it seems like I will be ok with moving at the end of march. In fact I might not even have to set up and fill the beds in a mad panic on day one!
I already have quite a list of things I want to try to grow, and as much as I like and eat onions and potatoes, I was concerned that they would take up valuable space.
Here's a short list of just some of the things I would like to grow......
Peppers, chillies, tomatoes, spring onions, baby leeks, baby carrots, mange tout/sugar snap peas, rocket, gem lettuces, beetroot, radishes. There are heaps more but they seemed like the things I would eat the most of! Is there a trick or key to a layout for raised beds (bearing in mind I only have two 6x4 at present)? I also really would like to grow asparagus, but I believe I would have to wait a couple of seasons before I could harvest it and I'm really not sure my patience - or my ducks- would stretch to that!
Perchy, great idea about the diary.

Thanks again.
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silverback
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by silverback »

Hi Thomassio, welcome from me too )wav( . Not being a very good gardener my two pence worth would be runner beans!, two or three plants at the ends of the beds, usually these are good croppers (that's if you like them!). Potatoes could be grown in bags or old containers elsewhere in the garden so won't take up room in the beds, anyway, best of luck and keep us posted )t' .
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by tosca100 »

Of your wish list only the peppers and chillies need a long season so you could start them off early ready to plant when it suits. The same with sprouts and parsnips, they can be started in modules so that would give you a bit more time to get the beds up and running. You could but tomato plants and cucumbers for this year which will save time and space. No idea about baby leeks though.

You would be best fencing against ducks and chickens though, they will strip most of your wish list in a matter of minutes. no point in doing all that work for no return.
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jackian
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by jackian »

I think this year because of the really wet weather there is not a lot that will be planted in the ground before March at least .
As said before if you can start things off under glass that would be great to give them a flying start... Tomatoes , peppers , broad beans and peas ,beetroot and carrot (no success with carrots for me though )
We have two allotments and this year we will be way behind as we are usually preparing the ground by now but we will be late and nature has a way of catching up.So I reckon as soon as you can prepare your ground and as soon as this is done you can begin to see your plan evolve.
Only going by our allotments and not a back garden my best advice would be not to attempt too much at a time...Complete one section before starting another to keep you interested.
This is a P.S I have not had any success with asparagus even though we followed all advice and dug the ground perfectly. We really put a lot of work into the bed but failed .
That does not mean that you will not be successful. It also takes two years to get your first crop.
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Thomassio
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by Thomassio »

Thanks a lot Jackie, Tosca and Silverback, more good advise and food for thought.
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KarenE
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by KarenE »

Hi Thom

Just a thought, but some of your crops could be grown in containers and hanging baskets which has the added bonus of keeping out greedy beaks and saves you a bit more space. I grow strawberries, herbs and salad crops in pots, have grown spring onions, garlic and tomatoes in troughs and cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets, and they do pretty well although you do need to make sure they are fed and watered more regularly. In my little plastic greenhouse I have grown sweet peppers, aubergines and cucumbers in pots too which again makes them portable so i can move them around to get the best sunny positions.

if space is likely to be an issue, squashes and courgettes seem to spread and need a lot of room so consider that if you're planning on planting any. I plant my pumpkin in a corner of the garden and it scrambles up over bushes and seems to do fine.

Potatoes and onions I've grown in the ground before but they take a lot of space and I don't seem to do well with onions (plus they are so cheap to buy) that I don't bother anymore and I grow only what we'll eat and what costs a bit more to buy. Potatoes I grew last year in one of those potato bags and they did pretty well.

I would recommend french beans (dwarf or full size) as they are really easy, very prolific and taste beautiful, and don't take too much space if grown up an obelisk. Sweetcorn I also grow and that doesn't take up much room as has to be planted in a close block - you can always grow salad leaves, beetroot and the like or even a squash or beans at the base of them. Tomatoes are dead easy and as said, cherry in hanging baskets and bush varieties in the plot.

Good luck! Half the fun is figuring out what you want to grow

Definitely fence off your plots before you plant anything out - I lost my entire crop of caulis, pak choi and lettuce to 2 ex batts who scoffed the lot on their first day out of the coop, not to mention stripping all my rhubarb leaves }hairout{

As for planting time, my dad always recommends sowing indoors in Feb but to be honest I've always found that the seedlings tend to be weaker and leggy - I think later sowing and planting out makes for hardier plants (chickens allowing) and i think march is probably the best time. You can always lie some fleece or cloches over the soil to warm it up
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Thomassio
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by Thomassio »

Thanks Karen, really helpful. Pak choi, hadn't thought about that but I do like its lot! Is there anything I would be better off buying as seedlings or bigger plants or are all these things fairly manageable from seed for someone without a lot of experience?
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KarenE
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by KarenE »

Hi Thom

Most of the things I mentioned are fine from seed and pretty easy to grow, just take a bit of care at first to make sure they aren't over watered or don't dry out in a sudden sunny spell (lost all my seedlings one year after the plastic greenhouse became a right hothouse.) Just plant more than you need, make sure the seed is still in date and don't forget to successional sow (so you don't have everything cropping at the same time)

You could buy plug plants if you want to get ahead quicker when planting out, if you haven't got greenhouse space or if your seedlings fail for whatever reason. I think it's personal preference though - I like to raise my own where possible, plus seeds are much cheaper and you can raise the quantities and strains you want.

Oh yes and mind the slugs when you first plant out your seedlings. Having chickens is no guarantee against slugs - my lot have shown no interest in them at all )gr:
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Thomassio
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by Thomassio »

Thanks again Karen, fortunately I'm almost guaranteed to be slug free. 6 ducks will do that in a matter of days and then keep the population permanently down, they can't get enough of them!

I have just spent an hour trawling the Thompson Morgan website - dangerous how quickly a basket can fill up online! Haven't quite clicked on the checkout button yet though! I searched for beetroot with the intention of looking for an f1 variety, as I believe (and could be very wrong) they are a fairly reliable, good yielding hybrid........then I discovered there were 6 or 7 f1 strains of beetroot! Oh dear I don't know where to begin! A bit of hit and hope I guess! So far, my basket contains; chives, spinach, rocket, beetroot, carrots, gem lettuce, spring onions and leeks. I'm reluctant to add aubergine, tomatoes ( which I now intend to do in hanging baskets or up the side of a fence) peppers and chillies as I am baffled by choice! Any pointers from anyone on how I should be choosing or is it a lot of guess work?! Simple, hardy and productive is what I really need I think.
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lancashire lass
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by lancashire lass »

Don't click on the checkout button yet - prices on the T&M website are not always the cheapest unless they are in their special offer category, and p&p is not cheap either. DT Brown and Johnsons Seeds (seed only - free p&p). Premier Seeds direct on e-bay have a one off 49p p&p, most packs cost about 99p each (plenty of seed)

With regards to beetroot, the open pollinated are just as good - I've never really had a problem except for maybe my own fault for not watering/feeding/lifting on time. Bolthardy is a well established good variety, but my favourite is Golden Beet. Barbabietola di Chioggia is a pretty pink/white striped beetroot when sliced.

Aubergines are not that easy to grow - put another way, not as productive as you might think and might need to be in a greenhouse.

Tomatoes - there are 2 types: bush (which sprawl over - can be untidy plants) and cordon (which you tie to a stake and trim leaves off for a single vine) Then there are beefsteak, salad, plum, sweet and cherry types as well as a whole load of other traits. Moneymaker and Gardeners Delight are good beginners types and very productive and reliable. Beefsteak ones tend to need a really good warm sunny summer (like last year!) A good cherry tom in a hanging basket is Tumbling Tom (trust me, one plant per basket!!!) Sungold F1 is supposed to be the most delicious tomato (but watch out, seeds can be expensive)

As for choice and selection, some of it comes with experience, some from other people's recommendation and some of it if you google.
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Re: New veg garden.....

Post by fabindia »

I am a keen but pretty rubbish veg gardener. That said I do grow a whole load of different stuff.

What I can say is give things a go, there is nothing like picking and preparing your own veg. Last year, I grew sweet corn and aubergine for the first time. Not the biggest crop in the world but tasted the best.
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